Issues

Diplomacy

Australia is one of the most highly globalised nations on the planet and therefore extremely dependent on an effective and active diplomacy. In a region undergoing rapid and transformational change, where shifting power balances are creating uncertainty about the existing regional order, Australia’s security and prosperity rely heavily on its international networks and relationships with both near neighbours and geographically-distant allies.

The Lowy Institute has conducted ground-breaking comparative research on Australia’s diplomacy and that of like-minded nations. It focuses on public diplomacy and Australia’s soft-power capabilities, leading-edge research on ediplomacy, consular affairs, international broadcasting, leadership, and resourcing of Australia’s international policy infrastructure and its overseas network. The Institute’s work has been instrumental in shaping a parliamentary enquiry into Australia’s diplomatic network, providing independent, non-partisan policy options to steer Australia’s diplomatic future.

Featured Publications

In 2015 Australia will host the Asian Football Confederation’s Asian Cup, bringing together the top 16 national teams in Asia. The tournament will provide opportunities for government, business and community groups to strengthen their engagement with Asia. In order to understand and leverage those...

In the Sydney Morning Herald, Anthony Bubalo and Michael Fullilove review why the Australian goverment seems to be staggering from crisis to crisis, arguing it has more to do with shifting plates of global power than problems in Canberra.

Latest Publications

Last month, a majority of the Republicans in the US Senate sent an open letter to the leadership of Iran . In it, they declared that any deal on Iranian nuclear technology between Tehran and the Obama Administration might be undone by Republicans in Washington, especially if they re-take the White...

[vimeo:123424426] After a decade of swimming against the tide , the Australian Government is slowly engaging in the world of digital diplomacy. The term ' DFAT the Dinosaur ' no longer applies, a label slapped onto our foreign affairs department in 2010 after a series of public refusals to...

By Maya Wang, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch. Maya is an expert on human rights defenders, civil society, women's rights, disability rights and criminal justice in China. Follow her on Twitter at @wang_maya. What's at stake in the Chinese Government's proposed new restrictions on...

[youtube:_aorW8gQ-gE] You might wonder whether the result of the recent second round of French departmental elections – with Nicolas Sarkozy taking credit for the UMP's win of 67 departments, trouncing Francois Hollande's Socialists, who got 34 – has anything to do with Australian regional...

In this Analysis, Howard Bamsey and Kath Rowley argue that any failure to pay proper, high-level attention to the current international climate change negotiations raises several risks to the national interest. Strong, constructive engagement in those negotiations by Australia would serve climate...